Facebook BlackBerry Phone – Was This It?

After yesterday’s leak of the possible BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha C or R-Series, it got me thinking that I’ve seen the design somewhere before. Then it clicked, I had seen the same form factor from the HTC Cha Cha.

The HTC Cha Cha is otherwise known as the ‘Facebook phone’. Really, the only reason why is due to the dedicated Facebook button on the bottom-right of the device.

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Interestingly enough, leading up to the Cha Cha’s release there were swarms of rumors that Facebook had been working on a phone. It’s been said by some analysts that Facebook has to break into the mobile industry. If not, there could apparently be dire consequences for the company.

What if Facebook and RIM had been working together on some type of phone? It wasn’t until after the release of the HTC Cha Cha that we saw RIM introduce a dedicated BBM button on their devices.

Conspiracy theories aside, it would have made sense for Facebook to approach RIM and utilize their excellence in messaging. As James Kendrick of ZDNet hypothesized, it could have entered “Facebook into the mobile space with panache.”

Whatever the hidden storyline might be, one cannot deny that the unknown BlackBerry device pictured above has a striking resemblance to the HTC Cha Cha. Why do you think RIM chose that form factor? Who took design ideas from who?